NEW YORK -- Johnny Manziel's soft spot for the SEC is influencing his preferred choice to win the BCS National Championship for a second consecutive season.

The Texas A&M quarterback rooted for Alabama last year and said he'll be do the same for Auburn on Jan. 6, when the Tigers square off against undefeated, top-ranked Florida State.

"It's a tough tossup, man," Manziel said Friday at a pre-Heisman media session at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square. "Two great teams that have a lot of strengths. You look at Florida State with the talent they have over there, and you look at what coach (Gus) Malzahn has done with Auburn this year.

"I'm SEC biased, so I'm rooting for my conference and Auburn, but Florida State is a great team. I think it really is a tossup."

Manziel threw for 454 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions in the Aggies' 45-41 October loss to Auburn, a game that served as one of the major turning points in the Tigers' season. The reigning Heisman trophy winner was hobbled at the end of the game by a shoulder injury but was on the field for the final possession, when the Aggies came up just short.

Manziel was sacked by Auburn senior defensive end Dee Ford on fourth-and-13 from Auburn's 21-yard line with a little more than a minute to play.

"I think they had a really good scheme as well to try and really push up the field and put some pressure on our tackles," said Manziel, who did not talk with reporters after the loss to Auburn. "They did a good job. Gabe Wright and the guys in the middle did a good job of trying to keep me in there and close that pocket up."

Asked to pick out a key matchup, Manziel said Florida's wide receivers versus Auburn's secondary. The Seminoles have four players who have caught at least six touchdowns and racked up more than 550 yards while the Tigers rank last in the SEC and 104th in the nation in pass defense.

"(Florida State's) got some guys that can make plays at the drop of a hat," Manziel said.